The town of Listowel, Ont. is preparing to say goodbye to two volunteer firefighters, in a ceremony on a scale it has likely never seen.

Ken Rea, 56 of Atwood and Ray Walter, 30, of Listowel will be honoured in a joint service. They died battling a blaze at a dollar store in downtown Listowel.

Upwards of 10,000 people are expected to attend, including thousands of firefighters and emergency responders from across the province and beyond. Premier Dalton McGuinty will also attend.

The bodies of the firefighters will travel past the store where they died, on the way to the Listowel Memorial Arena where the public funeral will be held. Residents are asked to line the route to pay their respects.

The procession will begin at the corner of Barber Avenue and Main Street at 1:30 p.m., through downtown Listowel, where businesses will be closed, and along Maitland Avenue to the arena.

Tim Beckett, Kitchener fire chief and president of the Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs, says about 100 uniformed personnel from the Kitchener Fire Department will attend.

About five of them will staff the Atwood fire station, so friends and colleagues of those lost can attend the service.

Beckett says "Within the fire service, it's like an extended family and it's very important for our members to be there to assist."

This isn't the first tragedy that has hit the town.

In February of 1959, the Listowel Arena's roof collapsed under the weight of heavy snow, killing seven young hockey players and the town's recreation director.

Fifty-two years later the community will gather in mourning again.

The Fire Marshal's investigation into the fire continues, but the OPP is making a public appeal, asking anyone who may have been inside the Dollar Stop before 3:30 p.m. on the day of the fire to come forward.